The Effect of Female Education on Fertility and Infant Health: Evidence from School Entry Policies Using Exact Date of Birth

TLDR

School entry policies influence female education and may heterogeneously affect fertility and infant health. This paper uses age‑at‑school‑entry policies to identify the effect of female education on fertility and infant health. The study focuses on sharp contrasts in schooling, fertility, and infant health between women born just before and after the school entry date, arguing that the policies primarily affect education of young women at risk of dropping out. JEL codes: I12, I21, J13, J16.

Abstract

This paper uses age-at-school-entry policies to identify the effect of female education on fertility and infant health. We focus on sharp contrasts in schooling, fertility, and infant health between women born just before and after the school entry date. School entry policies affect female education and the quality of a woman's mate and have generally small, but possibly heterogeneous, effects on fertility and infant health. We argue that school entry policies manipulate primarily the education of young women at risk of dropping out of school. (JEL I12, I21, J13, J16)